House of Cards (original version)

I've just been re-reading this - very interesting, esp. in the light of all the battling for power that's going on at the moment!
I read or heard recently that many years ago,before the author Michael Dobbs was an author, he was on holiday complaining to his wife about how rubbish the novel was (I think a thriller) that he was reading.

So she said, 'Well, why don't you write a better one then?'
Or words to that effect.
So he did.